System and methods for treating cancer cells with alternating polarity magnetic fields

Abstract

Systems and methods for destroying or inhibiting cancer cells and other rapidly-dividing cells including an alternating polarity (AP) magnetic field generator and one or more AP electromagnetic coil adapted to be coupled to at least a portion of a patient's body, and a controller to control the AP magnetic field generator and at least one AP electromagnetic coil and cause the field generator and coil to apply AP magnetic field having a frequency of 0.5-500 KHz and a field strength of 0.5-5 mT to the at least a portion of the patient's body area to achieve a desired inhibiting effect on cancer cells or other rapidly-dividing cells. Treatments provided by the system may be co-administered with an anti-cancer therapy such as a chemotherapy drug, a hormone therapy drug, targeted therapy drugs, immunotherapy drugs, an angiogenesis inhibitor drug, or tumor treatment field therapy.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of using magnetic fields to treat cancer cells in a target body area of a patient, comprising:
 using a magnetic field therapy system comprising:
 an alternating polarity (AP) magnetic field generator; 
 one or more AP electromagnetic coils electrically coupled to the AP magnetic field generator, wherein the one or more AP electromagnetic coils are energized by an electrical signal from the AP magnetic field generator to generate an AP magnetic field having at least a first frequency and a first field strength; and 
 a controller to control at least one of the first frequency and the first field strength of the AP magnetic field generated by the one or more AP electromagnetic coils; 
   coupling the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to at least a first portion of the patient's body;   generating an AP magnetic field having a first frequency of 0.5-500 kHz and a first field strength of 0.2-5 mT using the one or more AP electromagnetic coils;   applying the generated AP magnetic field to treat the cancer cells, wherein the generated AP magnetic field selectively affects the cancer cells to prevent metastasis of at least a portion of the cancer cells, while leaving non-cancer cells substantially unharmed.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein coupling the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to at least a first portion of the patient's body comprises using a retaining element selected from a garment and a bandage to maintain the one or more AP electromagnetic coils in close proximity to the at least a first portion of the patient's body. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the cancer cells comprise at least one of:
 brain cancer, and the retaining element is a hat;   breast cancer, and the retaining element is a wearable garment selected from a bra, a shirt, or a vest;   lung cancer, lung carcinoid tumors, thymic malignancies, tracheal tumors, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer and rectal cancer, and the retaining element is a wearable garment selected from a bra, a shirt, a vest, and a jacket;   a lower-body cancer selected from prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer, and the retaining element is an undergarment;   skin cancer, and the retaining element is one of an adhesive bandage and a non-adhesive bandage; and   one of a throat, thyroid, mouth, nose, and salivary gland cancer, and the retaining element is selected from a neck cuff, a neck collar, and a scarf.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 administering to the patient at least one additional anti-cancer therapy selected from a chemotherapy, a radiation therapy, an immunotherapy, a hormone therapy drug, a targeted therapy drug, an angiogenesis inhibitor drug, and tumor treatment field therapy.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein administering to the patient at least one additional anti-cancer therapy comprises administering the at least one additional anti-cancer therapy at one or more of:
 a lower dosage than a dosage that would be administered in the absence of applying the generated AP magnetic field to the target body area; and   a reduced dosing frequency compared to the frequency that would be administered in the absence of applying the generated AP magnetic field to the target body area.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  wherein coupling the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to at least a first portion of the patient's body comprises coupling a plurality of AP electromagnetic coils to at least the target body area, wherein each electromagnetic coil in said plurality of electromagnetic coils is oriented so as to apply a desired AP magnetic field distribution in the target body area. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises one or more of:
 generating an AP magnetic field continuously for a first treatment period;   generating an AP magnetic field intermittently for a second treatment period in alternating on-time periods, followed by off time periods in which an AP magnetic field is not generated;   generating an AP magnetic field intermittently for one or more circadian treatment periods based on circadian rhythms of the patient; and   generating an AP magnetic field intermittently for one or more third treatment periods at defined times of day.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises one or more of:
 generating an AP magnetic field having a single first frequency of 0.5-400 kHz;   generating an AP magnetic field for a defined time period having a first frequency of 0.5-400 kHz that varies in a defined pattern; and   generating an AP magnetic field having multiple simultaneous frequencies of 0.5-400 kHz.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field for a defined time period having a first frequency of 0.5-400 kHz that varies in a defined pattern comprises at least one of:
 generating an AP magnetic field in which the first frequency changes randomly at a defined rate;   generating an AP magnetic field in which the first frequency varies in a Gaussian distribution in one or more sub-ranges within the range of 0.5-400 kHz;   generating an AP magnetic field in which the first frequency varies in a non-Gaussian distribution in one or more sub-ranges within the range of 0.5-400 kHz.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises generating an AP magnetic field having a first frequency within the range of 25-400 KHz. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises generating an AP magnetic field having a first frequency within the range of 50-300 kHz and a first field strength within the range of 0.2-2 mT. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises generating an AP magnetic field having a first frequency within the range of 0.5-150 kHz and a first field strength within the range of 0.2-2 mT. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises generating an AP magnetic field in a burst mode defined by alternating on-time and off-time periods repeated at a second frequency, wherein each of the on-time periods of the second frequency comprises an AP magnetic field having the first frequency of 0.5-400 KHz. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating an AP magnetic field comprises generating an AP magnetic field having a first waveform, the method further comprising:
 performing amplitude modulation of the first waveform of the generated AP magnetic field prior to the step of applying the generated AP magnetic field to the target body area.   
     
     
         15 . A system for treating cancer cells in a target body area of a patient comprising:
 an alternating polarity (AP) magnetic field generator;   one or more AP electromagnetic coils electrically coupled to the AP magnetic field generator and adapted to be coupled to at least a first portion of the patient's body and energized by an electrical signal from the AP magnetic field generator to generate an AP magnetic field having at least a first frequency and a first field strength; and   a controller adapted to control the AP magnetic field generator and the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to cause the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to generate and apply to the at least a first portion of the patient's body an AP magnetic field having a frequency of 0.5-500 kHz and a field strength of 0.2-5 mT, wherein the AP magnetic field selectively affects the cancer cells to prevent metastasis of at least a portion of the cancer cells, while leaving non-cancer cells substantially unharmed.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more AP electromagnetic coils are adapted to be coupled to the at least a first portion of the patient's body by a retaining element during the application of the AP magnetic field, and wherein the cancer cells comprise at least one of:
 brain cancer, and the retaining element is a wearable garment selected from a scarf and a hat;   breast cancer, and the retaining element is a wearable garment selected from a bra, a shirt, a vest, a jacket, a hat, an undergarment, and a bandage;   lung cancer, lung carcinoid tumors, thymic malignancies, tracheal tumors, pancreatic cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer and rectal cancer, and the retaining element is a wearable garment selected from a bra, a shirt, a vest, and a jacket;   a lower-body cancer selected from prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer, and the retaining element is an undergarment;   skin cancer, and the retaining element is one of an adhesive bandage and a non-adhesive bandage; and   one of a throat, thyroid, mouth, nose, and salivary gland cancer, and the retaining element is selected from a neck cuff, a neck collar, and a scarf.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is adapted to cause the AP magnetic field generator and the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to apply the AP magnetic field to the target body area during a period in which the patient is being treated with one or more a chemotherapy drug, a radiation therapy, an immunotherapy drug, a hormone therapy drug, a targeted therapy drug, an angiogenesis inhibitor drug, and tumor treatment field therapy. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the one or more AP electromagnetic coils comprises a plurality of AP electromagnetic coils each adapted to be coupled to a portion of the patient's body to obtain a desired magnetic field distribution in the patient's body. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller comprises a timing control module to control the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to perform at least one of:
 applying the AP magnetic field continuously to the at least a portion of the patient's body for a first treatment period;   applying the AP magnetic field intermittently for a second treatment period in alternating on time periods in which the AP magnetic field is applied to the at least a portion of the patient's body, followed by off time periods in which the AP magnetic field is not applied to the patient's body;   applying the AP magnetic field intermittently to the at least a portion of the patient's body for one or more circadian treatment periods based on circadian rhythms of the patient; and   applying the AP magnetic field intermittently to the at least a portion of the patient's body for one or more third treatment periods at defined times of day.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the controller comprises a frequency control module to control the one or more AP electromagnetic coils to perform at least one of:
 applying an AP magnetic field having a single frequency of 0.5-400 kHz to the at least a portion of the patient's body;   applying an AP magnetic field having a frequency of 0.5-400 kHz that varies in a defined pattern to the at least a portion of the patient's body;   applying an AP magnetic field having multiple simultaneous frequencies of 0.5-400 kHz to the at least a portion of the patient's body; and   applying an AP magnetic field having a bimodal magnetic field frequency distribution comprising a first variable AP magnetic field distribution that varies the magnetic field frequency between a first lower limit and a first upper limit and a second variable AP magnetic field distribution that varies the magnetic field frequency between a second lower limit and a second upper limit.